Vermont

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Vermont (disambiguation) .

Vermont
(Details) (Details)
List of states
Capital:	Montpelier
State motto:	Freedom and Unity (Freedom and Unity)
Surface:	23,871 km²
Residents:	625,594 (estimated in 2016) (26 U / km²)
Member since:	March 4, 1791
Time zone:	Eastern: UTC − 5 / −4
The highest point:	1339 m (Mount Mansfield)
Average Height:	305 m
Deepest point:	29 m Lake Champlain
Governor :	Phil Scott ( R )
Post  / Office /  ISO	VT / / US-VT
Vermont map
Geographical map of New England (Vermont on the left)

Church Street, Burlington

Vermont ( English pronunciation  [ vɚˈmɑnt ] ) is a state of the United States of America and part of New England . It is best known for its maple syrup , the mining and processing of marble and the idyllic mountain landscapes. The Green Mountains and Lake Champlain are popular recreational areas. Logically, the nickname is also Green Mountain State . Many wealthy people in the surrounding states own a weekend home here.

In autumn, the changing color of autumn leaves characterizes the landscape (“ Indian Summer ”). In 2013, around 12.8 million tourists came to Vermont. The mountains, rivers and lakes are ideal for recreational activities ranging from skiing in winter to fishing ( fly fishing ), hiking, trekking , water hiking and camping in summer and autumn. The quiet towns and villages of Vermont are also part of the visitor's program.

geography

Vermont is bordered to the north by Canada (15 border crossings), to the west by New York (state) , to the south by Massachusetts and to the east by New Hampshire , where the Connecticut River forms the border. 77 percent of the state is covered by deciduous forests , especially maples . The Lake Champlain is the largest lake of Vermont and the ninth largest inland waters of the United States. It is about 180 kilometers long, 19 kilometers wide and forms about 50 percent of Vermont's western border. The fertile Champlain Valley lies on the edge of the lake. The Green Mountains are a heavily forested low mountain range; its north-south axis runs almost the entire length of Vermont. The Taconic Mountains are located in southwest Vermont .

fauna and Flora

Winooski River, Montpelier

For the recovery of agricultural land rodete to the woods; By 1850 almost 70 percent of the once large stocks had been cut down. In the decades that followed, many of Vermont's farmers moved to the Wild West or to industrial towns on the east coast. Many of the farms gradually fell into disrepair and the areas became forest again. The populations of previously almost extinct species ( brown bear , elk , coyote and wild turkey ) increased again.

population

Population development
Census	Residents		± in%
1790	85,425		-
1800	154,465		80.8%
1810	217,895		41.1%
1820	235.981		8.3%
1830	280,652		18.9%
1840	291,948		4%
1850	314.120		7.6%
1860	315,098		0.3%
1870	330,551		4.9%
1880	332.286		0.5%
1890	332.422		0%
1900	343,641		3.4%
1910	355,956		3.6%
1920	352,428		-1 %
1930	359.611		2%
1940	359.231		-0.1%
1950	377,747		5.2%
1960	389.881		3.2%
1970	444.330		14%
1980	511.456		15.1%
1990	562,758		10%
2000	608,827		8.2%
2010	625.741		2.8%
Before 1900 1900–1990 2000 2010

Population density

The population composition is very similar to that of New Hampshire . In 2012, 95.4% of the population were white (23.3% of French or Franco-Canadian descent, 18.4% of English ancestry , 16.4% of Irish ancestry and 9.1% of German ancestry ). The remaining 4.6% are split between African Americans (1.1%), Asian Americans (1.4%) and Native Americans (0.4%). 1.6% were Hispanics or Latinos . In the north in particular, there are many people of French origin, and the French language is also a colloquial language. Vermont is the US state with the highest percentage of whites.

The writer and playwright Carl Zuckmayer , who leased and ran a farm in Vermont in the 1940s , wrote the following description to describe the local population :

"What still lives on its home today in Vermont, in which there are many abandoned, slowly decaying farms overgrown by the forest, are the descendants of those original settlers who were too stubborn and connected with the land to set off to the west, to take part in the great migration of peoples for 'better pastures'. Hence, these people have a trait of stubbornness and stubbornness, also of stubbornness, which Europeans can understand more easily than many Americans. A particularly closed people with a quirky, often a little malicious humor, non-conformist to the bone, headstrong to the point of solitude, but never without the natural bond in the community, the self-evident, phrase-free willingness to mutual help. "

Religions

The religious communities with the largest number of members in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 128,293, the Protestant United Church of Christ with 16,392 and the United Methodist Church with 14,710.

Biggest cities

• List of cities in Vermont

history

Vermont was part of the New York colony during the colonial days of North America . Vermont was originally the home of the Indian tribes of the Iroquois , Algonquin, and Abenaki . In 1609, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain declared the area around today's Lake Champlain in view of the surrounding mountains as "Les Verts Monts" ( Green Mountains ), which was later anglicized to the current name .

British colonial times

Thomas Chittenden

The Treaty of Paris , which ended the Seven Years' War (also called "French and Indian War " here) in 1763 , initially allocated the area to the British. Parts of the region were controlled at different times by the colonies or the later states of New York and New Hampshire . In the War of Independence , Ethan Allen and his so-called Green Mountain Boys fought against the British, which culminated in the conquest of Fort Ticonderoga , and against the aforementioned, now occupied by the British states.

On January 18, 1777 Vermont declared itself an independent republic (in the first six months still as New Connecticut, from July as Vermont). During this period, Vermont's first constitution was presented and ratified , the first written constitution of an independent state in North America and the New World. Even at that time it exhibited the most extensive freedom rights, was the first state in North America to abolish slavery , guaranteed all men the same right to vote, independent of any financial circumstances, and contained the obligation that the state enables all its citizens to go to school. Thomas Chittenden , the region’s political leader, became its first governor . In 1791 Vermont joined the union as the 14th member. The constitution, which is still largely in force today, was passed in 1793. Later historians coined the term Vermont Republic for the period of independence from 1777 to 1791 .

Civil war

As reliable snipers and robust “nature boys”, the Vermonters, who competed as Northerners in gray uniforms with purple braids in the uniform chaos of the early days , were welcome forces for the generals of the Union Army . For example, General John Sedgwick literally ordered at the Battle of Gettysburg : "Send the Vermonters ahead and keep the ranks closed!" But the losses were enormous: together with Virginia in the south, Vermont had the most casualties in proportion to its population. Worth mentioning is the St. Albans Raid on 19 October 1864 in the city of St. Albans in Franklin County , considered the northernmost action on land used by members of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War , has gone down in history was carried .

1865 until today

When the wife of President Abraham Lincoln spent the summer here in 1863, she brought up the region as a vacation spot. Today Vermont is one of the top vacation destinations in the United States in every season. In 2005 the number of excursions and vacations to Vermont was estimated at 13.4 million. According to the 2000 census, nearly 15 percent of all homes in the state were classified as vacation, recreational or second homes - a percentage second only to Maine in the US . The New England hurricane caused severe damage in 1938 and Hurricane Irene in 2011 .

In 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that all homosexual couples must be allowed to marry, or at least achieve equivalent legal status. More than half of the electorate supported this, and a law to this effect was ratified by the Legislature and Governor Howard Dean . In April 2009, Vermont became the first US state to introduce same-sex marriage .

politics

Vermont State Constitution

The Vermont Constitution dated July 9, 1793 (with amendments since) and consists of two parts. The first part is the " Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont" and was originally written in 1777, twelve years before the Bill of Rights of the United States. The second part is the “ Plan or Frame of Government ”, written in 1793 and largely going back to the previous constitution of 1777 , which describes the fundamentals and functions of the three state powers.

The executive power rests with the governor, who appoints the ministers and other state officials. The legislative power lies with the bicameral parliament, called the General Assembly , and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate . The judicial power rests with the courts; the highest state court is the Supreme Court, which is composed of five judges. Changes to the Constitution can only be proposed by the General Assembly, not by the Governor; this requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, a simple majority in the House of Representatives and renewed approval in a newly elected Assembly; Finally, the planned change is subject to a general referendum.

Governors

From 2011 to January 2017, Peter Shumlin ( Democrat ) served as governor . He was succeeded on January 5, 2017 by the previous Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott ( Republican ). Unlike most US states, the governor is elected every two years rather than four; otherwise this is only the case in New Hampshire .

• List of Vermont Governors
• List of Lieutenant Governors of Vermont

Vermont and National Politics

Presidential election results

year	republican	Democrats
2016	29.8% 95.369	55.7% 178,573
2012	30.97% 92,698	66.57% 199,239
2008	30.45% 98,974	67.46% 219,262
2004	38.80% 121,180	58.94% 184,067
2000	40.70% 119,775	50.62% 149,022
1996	31.09% 80,352	53.35% 137,894
1992	30.42% 88,122	46.11% 133,592
1988	51.10% 124,331	47.58% 115,775
1984	57.9% 135,865	40.8% 95,730
1980	44.4% 94,628	38.4% 81,952
1976	54.3% 102,085	43.1% 81,004
1972	62.9% 117,149	36.6% 68,174
1968	52.8% 85,142	43.5% 70,255
1964	30.4% 54,942	66.3% 108,127
1960	58.7% 98,131	41.4% 69,186
1956	72.2% 110,390	27.8% 42,549
1952	71.5% 109,717	28.2% 43,355

In the presidential elections after 1988 Vermont, like Connecticut , increasingly came closer to the Democrats. Vermont is now considered a blue state .

The Senators Bernie Sanders (independent, until January 2019) and Patrick Leahy (Democrat, to January 2017) represented together with the single member in the House of Representatives , Democrat Peter Welch , Vermont's interests in Congress in Washington . From the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2015, Patrick Leahy was the longest-serving senator in the Democratic majority parliamentary group and held the office of Senate President pro tempore .

Since Vermont has two Senate seats, despite its small size and population, it often tempts foreign candidates (the so-called carpetbaggers ) to line up here for a supposedly easy election campaign . However, this has often been foiled by shrewd locals. So defeated in 1998 a 79-year-old pensioner named Fred Tuttle multi-millionaire Jack McMullen from Massachusetts in the Primary of Republican . With an election budget of only $ 201, Tuttle achieved 55% of the primary votes in order to forego the election process in favor of Patrick Leahy, whom he himself favored.

Vermont representative in the American Congress

• List of US Senators from Vermont
• List of members of the US House of Representatives from Vermont

Administrative division

Vermont is divided into 14 counties : Addison , Bennington , Caledonia , Chittenden , Essex , Franklin , Grand Isle , Lamoille , Orange , Orleans , Rutland , Washington , Windham and Windsor .

• List of counties in Vermont

education

The main college is the University of Vermont . Other colleges can be found on the Vermont Universities List .

Culture and sights

Natural monuments and sights

Vermont State Capitol, Montpelier, around 1933

Covered Bridge, Dummerston

• Bennington Museum , exhibition with major works by Grandma Moses ,
• Billings Farm , model farm and open-air museum ,
• Brattleboro , health resort with an alternative scene,
• Wilmington, Vermont and West Dover , ski resorts,
• Dorset, Vermont and Newfane ,
• American Precision Museum in Windsor (Vermont) , tool museum ,
• Vermont State Capitol in Montpelier,
• Northeast Kingdom , still largely untouched nature with clear lakes and dense mountain forests,
• Shelburne , museum and model farm,
• Arlington , site of the Revolutionary War,
• New England Maple Museum , near Pittsford, everything for making and processing the maple syrup,
• Covered Bridges on Highway 67 A west of Bennington.

Economy and Infrastructure

The real gross domestic product per capita real GDP was USD 49,780 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: USD 57,118; national ranking: 34 of 50). The unemployment rate was 2.9% in November 2017 (national average: 4.1%).

• Agricultural sector : dairy products (especially cheese ), Ben & Jerry's (ice cream), cattle , horse breeding (Morgan horse, stocky and perennial breed), hay , apples , cider , maple syrup products .
• Industry : electrical goods, tool industry , printed products , publishers , paper products , asbestos , granite , marble and slate mining and their processing.
• Services : Headquarters of various life insurance and fire insurance , tourism .

traffic

railroad

Railway network

Main article Rail transportation in Vermont

The Vermont railroad network in 2005 was 914 kilometers. Freight traffic is mainly handled by the Vermont Railway with its subsidiaries and the New England Central Railroad . The Amtrak offers two Express trains from New York City to. The "Ethan Allen" runs via Albany to Rutland and also stops in Vermont in Fair Haven . The “Vermonter” travels from Washington DC via New York City and Springfield to St. Albans in a good 13 hours and serves the train stations in Brattleboro , Bellows Falls , Windsor-Mt. Ascutney , White River Junction , Randolph , Montpelier-Barre , Waterbury-Stowe , Burlington-Essex Junction and St. Albans . In addition, several tourist trains run according to a timetable on the Vermont Rail System routes.

air traffic

The state of Vermont has a number of airports with Burlington International Airport being the busiest.

Others

Hermit Thrush

• Anthem : These Green Mountains
• State bird : Hermit thrush Catharus guttatus

literature

Overview works

• John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth: The Vermont Encyclopedia . Hanover, NH: Univ. Pr., 2003, ISBN 1-58465-086-9 .
• Vermont Atlas & Gazetteer . Freeport, Me: DeLorme, 2000. ISBN 0-89933-322-2 .

history

• William A. Haviland, Marjory W. Power: The Original Vermonters. Native Inhabitants, Past and Present. University of Vermont Press, 1994.
• Jan Albers: Hands on the Land . A History of the Vermont Landscape. Cambridge, Mass .: MIT Press, 2000. ISBN 0-262-01175-1 .
• Christopher M. Klyza, Stephen C. Trombulak: The Story of Vermont . A natural and cultural history. Hanover, NH: Univ. Pr., 1999. ISBN 0-87451-936-5 .
• Joe Sherman: Fast Lane on a Dirt Road . A Contemporary History of Vermont. White River Junction, Vt .: Chelsea Green Publ., 2000. ISBN 1-890132-74-8 .

Geography, population

• Steve Rodgers: Country Towns of Vermont . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 1-56626-195-3 .

Touristic

• APA Guide USA New England . Berlin: Langenscheidt, 2001, especially pp. 242-271, ISBN 3-8268-2415-6 .
• Kim Grant et al .: Vermont, an Explorer's Guide . New Haven: Countryman Pr., 2002. ISBN 0-88150-519-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ^ US Census Bureau _ Census of Population and Housing . Retrieved February 28, 2011
3. ↑ Extract from Census.gov . Retrieved February 28, 2011
4. ↑ Excerpt from factfinder.census.gov.Retrieved February 28, 2011
5. ↑ Missouri Census Data Center ( January 15, 2013 memento on the Internet Archive ). Retrieved October 12, 2012
6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of October 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Carl Zuckmayer: As if it were a piece from me , 1966
8. ^ State Membership Report: Vermont: Religious Traditions, 2010 . The Association of Religion Data Archives, accessed November 2, 2016.
9. ↑ 365gay: Gay marriage legal in Vermont ( Memento of April 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed April 7, 2009)
10. ↑ Complete Text of the Vermont Constitution.
11. ↑ www.270towin.com
12. ^ US Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Economic Accounts
13. ^ Unemployment Rates for States. Retrieved January 17, 2018 . 
14. ↑ see official route network report of the AAR, as of December 31, 2005 (PDF) ( Memento from July 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Overview page for the tourist trains in Vermont with timetables and information

Web links

Commons : Vermont  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Wikivoyage: Vermont  Travel Guide

• Vermont state website. (English). 
• Vermont Vacation. (English, Vermont Tourist Office website). 
• Christoph von Marschall : Secessionist efforts in Vermont. In: Tagesspiegel.de . August 16, 2007 . 

Coordinates: 44 ° 5 ′  N , 72 ° 37 ′  W